Deck assembly including quick clip module

ABSTRACT

A deck assembly includes a deck panel having a plate shape extending in a first direction and having a clip insertion groove recessed from each of both side surfaces thereof, a lower support disposed below the deck panel in a second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction, and a quick clip module coupled to one side surface of the lower support to fix the deck panel in a separable manner.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a deck assembly including a quick clipmodule, and more particularly, to a deck assembly in which a deck panelis fixed by using a quick clip module for easy construction andmaintenance.

BACKGROUND ART

Deck assemblies are widely used for construction of floors of terraces,walks, hiking trails, and the like. Generally, the deck assembly isconstructed by disposing a lower support on the ground and installing aplurality of deck panels thereon. Here, construction methods for thedeck assembly are classified into a direct piece construction method inwhich a deck panel is coupled to a lower support by using a couplingmember such as a nail and a bolt, and a clip construction method inwhich a plurality of clips are coupled to a lower support and a deckpanel is fixed between the clips.

However, the direct piece construction method has a limitation ofcausing a pedestrian to be injured as the coupling member is exposed tothe outside when the deck panel is damaged, and the clip constructionmethod has a limitation in that construction takes a lot of time andefforts because each of clips has to be coupled to the lower support byusing a coupling member while an interval between the clips ismaintained.

Accordingly, the deck assembly, in which clips are made as a module suchthat the deck assembly is easily installed and only a specific portionof the deck assembly is replaceable if necessary, has been required.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Technical Problem

The present invention provides a deck assembly in which clips are madeas a module such that the deck assembly is easily installed and only aspecific portion of the deck assembly is replaceable if necessary.

The advantageous objectives of the present disclosure are not limited tothe above-mentioned ones, and the other advantageous effects will beclearly understood by an ordinary person skilled in the art to which thepresent disclosure pertains.

Technical Solution

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a deck assemblyincludes: a deck panel having a plate shape extending in a firstdirection and having a clip insertion groove recessed from each of bothside surfaces thereof; a lower support disposed below the deck panel ina second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction; and aquick clip module coupled to one side surface of the lower support tofix the deck panel in a separable manner, in which the quick clip moduleincludes: a base part including a hexahedral body extending in thesecond direction, in which a plurality of multi-stepped openings passthrough a side surface thereof in the first direction and clipthrough-holes communicated with the openings in one-to-onecorrespondence are formed in a top surface thereof, and clip fixingparts formed in the insides of the openings and in which the clipinsertion grooves communicated with the clip through-holes are formed inthe top surface thereof to be recessed inward; and clip parts disposedin the clip insertion grooves and the clip through-holes and each havinga portion protruding to the outside, in which a top surface and a sidesurface of each of the clip through-holes are opened, and each of theclip fixing parts is formed such that a clip fixing projection insertedinto the clip part to prevent the clip part from being separatedprotrudes from an inner surface of the clip insertion groove.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the quick clip module furtherincludes: an inverse L-shaped support part formed on the top surface ofthe body in one-to-one correspondence to the clip through hole and beingcaught by the lower support; and a cover part coupled to each of theopenings in a separable manner, in which the cover part includes: a mainmember having a rectangular plate shape, made of an elastic material,and inserted into the opening; a first fixing member coupled to onesurface of the main member so as to be adjacent to one end of the mainmember; and a second fixing member coupled to one surface of the mainmember so as to be adjacent to the other end of the main member, inwhich the first fixing member and the second fixing member are formed toprotrude toward opposite directions from each other, and the firstfixing member and the second fixing member are caught by a step of theopening when the main member is inserted to the opening.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the cover part may furtherinclude a third fixing member integrated with the top surface of themain member and passing through the clip through-hole to protrude to theoutside of the body.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the clip part may include: aU-shaped main body formed by bending a metal plate having a constant; afirst extension member bent inward from one end of the main body toextend and having a plurality of bent sections and a curved section bentin an arch shape; and a second extension member bent inward from theother end of the main body to extend and having a plurality of bentsections and a curved section bent in an arch shape, in which the firstextension member and the second extension member are formed to besymmetrical to each other and elastically deformed by an external forceto move in a direction in which the first extension member and thesecond extension member become closer to each other.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the base part may furtherinclude: a protruding member protruding from the top surface of the bodybetween each pair of support parts, and an impact absorbing membercoupled to the protruding member and made of an elastic material, inwhich the impact absorbing member is configured such that the insertiongroove, through which the protruding member is inserted, is recessedinward.

Advantageous Effects

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the deck panel isfixed by using the modular quick clip module instead of using a couplingmember such as a screw, so that the deck panel may be easily constructedand the construction time is short.

In addition, in the quick clip module of the present invention, sincethe clip part may be separated, when any one clip part is defective,only the corresponding part may be replaced and thus maintenance may beeasily performed.

In addition, the clip part of the present invention may be manufacturedby bending the metal plate having the constant width, and thus the clippart may be easily manufactured to firmly fix the deck panel.

It should be understood that the effects of the present disclosure arenot limited to the above-described ones and includes all effects thatmay be driven from the construction of the present disclosure claimed inthe claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded view illustrating a deck assembly according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front view illustrating a quick clip module according to theembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view illustrating the quick clip moduleaccording to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a right side view illustrating the quick clip module accordingto the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an exploded view illustrating the quick clip module accordingto the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating a cover part according to theembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating a clip part according to theembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 8 is a view for explaining a process of coupling the quick clipmodule and the deck panel according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, the present disclosure will be described with reference tothe accompanying drawings. However, the present invention may beimplemented in various different forms, and is not limited to theembodiments. Further, in order to clearly describe the presentinvention, parts that are irrelevant to the description are excludedfrom the drawings and the similar parts are denoted by similar referencenumerals throughout the specification.

When a certain part of the specification is said to be “connected(connected, contacted, coupled)” with another part thereof, thisincludes not only “directly connected” but also “indirectly connected”with other members therebetween. In addition, when a certain part“includes” a certain component, this means that it may be provided withmore other components, rather than excluding other components, unlessthere is a particularly opposing component.

The terms used in the specification are used only to describe aparticular embodiment, and are not intended to limit the presentinvention. The expression of singularity includes multiple expressions,unless the context clearly implies otherwise. In the specification, theterms “include” or “have” should be understood to specify that thefeatures, numbers, steps, actions, components, parts or combinations ofthem listed in the specification exist, and not to exclude in advancethe existence or additional possibility of one or more other features ornumbers, steps, actions, components, components, parts or anycombination of them.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described indetail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an exploded view illustrating a deck assembly 1 according toan embodiment of the present invention.

The deck assembly 1 is used for construction of floors of a walk, ahiking trail, a terrace, and the like, and includes at least one deckpanel 10, a lower support 20, and a quick clip module 30.

The deck panel 10 is a component that is fixed by the quick clip module30 and provided to the floor surface, and may be formed of wood, asynthetic resin, or a metal material. Here, the deck panel 10 may bedisposed in a rectangular flat plate shape, which extends in a firstdirection, and a clip insertion groove 11, into which the quick clipmodule 30 is inserted, may be recessed from each of both side surfacesof the deck panel 10 along the first direction. In addition, the deckpanel 10 may be configured such that a plurality of projections forpreventing slipperiness when walking protrude from a top surfacethereof.

Meanwhile, the aforementioned first direction is a direction Y in whichthe deck panel 10 extends, a second direction, which will be describedbelow, is a direction X in which a lower support 20 extends and isperpendicular to the first direction, and a third direction, which willbe described below, is a direction Z in which a protruding member 313protrudes and is perpendicular to the first direction and the seconddirection.

The lower support 20 is a component supporting the quick clip module 30and may be disposed in a hexahedral shape, which extends in the seconddirection. That is, the lower support 20 may be disposed perpendicularto the deck panel 10.

The quick clip module 30 may be a component fixing the deck panel 10 ina separable manner, and may be coupled to one side surface of the lowersupport 20. Here, the quick clip module 30 may be coupled to the lowersupport 20 by a coupling member (not shown) such as a nail and a nut.

FIG. 2 is a front view illustrating the quick clip module 30 accordingto the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a rear sideperspective view illustrating the quick clip module 30 according to theembodiment of the present invention.

The quick clip module 30 may include a base part 31 coupled to the lowersupport 20 and a plurality of clip parts 32 fixing the deck panel 10.

Referring to FIG. 5, the base part 31 may include a hexahedral body 311extending in the second direction, and a clip fixing part 312 in whichthe clip part 32 may be disposed.

The body 311 may be configured such that a plurality of openings 3111pass therethrough in the first direction and the openings 3111 may havea multi-stepped shape. Here, it is preferable that the plurality ofopenings 3111 are spaced apart from each other at an equal interval.

Meanwhile, the openings 3111 are disposed in a multi-stepped shape, andthus the body 311 is configured such that the area of an openingdisposed on one side surface thereof (hereinafter, one side surfaceopening), may be smaller than the area of an opening disposed on theother side surface thereof (hereinafter, the other side surfaceopening).

The body 311 may configured such that a clip through-hole 3112communicated with the openings 3111 may be formed on a top surfacethereof. Here, the clip through-hole 3112 may be formed in one-to-onecorrespondence to the openings 3111 and a top surface, a bottom surface,and one side surface thereof may be opened.

In addition, a level control unit 3313 may be formed one end and theother end of the body 311 so as to align a level from another clipmodule 30. The level control unit 3113 may have a convexo-concaveportion so as to be coupled with other level control units, and a convexend and a concave end of the level control unit 3113 may be provided tobe asymmetrical to each other. That is, the concave portions and theconvex portions of two quick clip modules 30 making contract with eachother may be engaged with each other.

Accordingly, the height levels of two continuous quick clip modules 30may be adjusted depending on the relative coupling positions between thelevel control units 3113.

The clip fixing part 312 may have the same height as a side surfaceopening 3111, and may have a hexahedral shape having a longitudinalcross-sectional area, which is smaller than the longitudinalcross-sectional area of the side surface opening 3111. Moreover, theclip fixing part 312 may be spaced apart from the side surface of thebody 311 at a predetermined interval to be provided in the opening ofthe body 3111. That is, the openings 3111 may be partitioned by the clipfixing part 312.

The clip fixing part 312 is configured such that the clip insertiongroove 3121 communicated with the clip through-hole 3112 is recessed onthe top surface thereof, and the top surface and one side surface of theclip insertion groove 3121 may be opened.

In addition, a hexahedral clip fixing projection 3122 inserted into theclip part 32 may protrude from the inner surface of the clip insertiongroove 3121 of the clip fixing part 312. Here, the inner surface of theclip insertion groove 3121, which has the clip fixing projection 3122,may be a surface that faces the opened one side surface of the clipinsertion groove 3121.

In this way, the clip fixing projection 3122 is disposed, and thus theclip part 32 inserted into the clip insertion groove 3121 may beremovable only through the opened one side surface thereof.

Meanwhile, the clip fixing projection 3122 may pass through a firstcoupling member insertion hole 3123, into which the coupling member maybe inserted. That is, a user may insert the coupling member into thefirst coupling member insertion hole 3123 disposed in the clip fixingprojection 3122 to couple the quick clip module 30 and the lower support20.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the clip fixingpart 312 may be integrated with or separated from the body 311, and aU-shaped recess may be recessed on the other side surface of the clipfixing part 312, which faces one side surface having the clip insertiongroove 3121.

The clip part 32 may be coupled to the base part 31 in a separablemanner, and may fix the deck panel 10. In more detail, a first area maybe disposed in the clip through-hole 3112 and the clip insertion groove3121 of the clip part 32, and a second area, except for the first areamay protrude to the outside. Here, the first area may be an area coupledto the base area 31 and the second area may be an area fixing the deckpanel 10.

In the way, the plurality of clip part 32 may be disposed in the basepart 31 in a separable manner, respectively, and thus a user may replaceonly the corresponding clip part 32 without having to exchange theentire quick clip module 30 when any one clip part 32 is damaged.

Referring to FIG. 7, the clip part 32 may include a U-shaped main body321 in which a metal plate having a specific width is vertically bent, afirst extension member 322 bent from one end of the main body 321 to theinner side to extend, and a second extension member 323 bent from theother end of the main body 321 to the inner side to extend. Here, theclip fixing projection 3122 may be inserted into an interior space ofthe main body 321.

Moreover, the first extension member 322 and the second extension member323 may be spaced apart from each other at a predetermined interval tobe symmetrical to each other, and may have a plurality of bent sectionsand a curved section bent in an arch shape.

In more detail, in the first extension member 322, a first bent section3221, a bent curved section 3222, and the curved section 3223 may besequentially disposed in a direction in which they are far away from themain body 321.

Here, the first extension member 322 may be bent in an obtuse angleshape by the first bent section 3221, may be vertically bent to theoutside by the second bent section 3222, and may be bent in a circulararc shape. Here, the curved section 3223 may be inserted into the clipinsertion groove 11 of the deck panel 10, and the circular arc may be asemicircle or an arc of one fourth of a circle.

This structure allows the clip part 32 to have a simple shape and asufficient elastic force, and accordingly, may fix the deck panel 10 ina method in which the clip part 32 is inserted into the clip insertiongroove 11 of the deck panel 10 disposed at both sides of the clip part32.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the quick clipmodule 30 may further include a plurality of support parts 33 disposedat sites that are adjacent to clip through-hole 3112, on the top surfaceof the body 311. Here, the plurality of support parts 33 may be spacedapart from each other at a predetermined interval.

Referring to FIG. 4, the support part 33 may have an inverse L shape tobe caught by the lower support 20, and may be disposed in one to onecorrespondence to the clip through-holes 3112. Here, an end of thesupport part 33 may face the lower support 20.

In this way, the support part 33 is disposed, and thus a user of thepresent invention may hold the support part 33 on the lower support 20to conveniently adjust the level between the quick clip module 30 andthe lower support 20.

The quick clip module 30 may further include a plurality of cover parts34 coupled to the openings 3111 in a separable manner. In the presentinvention, the cover part 34 may be coupled to the openings 3111, andthus, the opened one side surface of the clip insertion groove 3121 maybe separated to prevent separation of the clip part 32.

Referring to FIG. 6, in a more detailed description of the shape of thecover part 34, the cover part 34 may include a main member 341, a firstfixing member 342, and a second fixing member 343.

The main member 341 may be formed in a rectangular plate shape of anelastic material, and may be inserted into a partition space of theopenings 3111 disposed by the clip fixing part 312. Here, the mainmember 341 may have the same height as the height of the opening on oneside surface, and may have a longitudinal cross-sectional area that isthe same as or smaller than the longitudinal cross-sectional area of theone side surface opening.

Moreover, a second coupling member insertion hole 3411, into which thecoupling member is inserted, may be formed at a location of the mainmember 341 corresponding to the first coupling member insertion hole3123 to pass therethrough.

The first fixing member 342 may be coupled to one surface of the mainmember 341 so as to be adjacent to one end of the main member 341, andthe second fixing member 343 may be coupled to one surface of the mainmember 341 so as to be adjacent to the other end of the main member 341.Here, the first fixing member 342 and the second fixing member 343 maybe formed of a harder material than the main member 341, and mayprotrude toward opposite directions. That is, when the cover part 34 isinserted into the openings, the first fixing member 342 and the secondfixing member 343 may be caught by a step of the openings 3111.

Meanwhile, one surface of the above-mentioned main member 341 may be asurface facing a surface that is exposed to the outside when beingcoupled to the openings 3111.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the first fixingmember 342 may have a triangular column shape, in which a side edgethereof is cut away. Here, the side, in which a side edge thereof is cutaway, may be disposed toward the outside.

The second fixing member 343 may be formed in a rectangular plate shape,which has the height as the height of the main member 341, and may bedisposed in parallel to the main member 341 to be coupled thereto.

In the present invention, when a user fixes the cover part 34 to theopenings 3111, the first fixing member 342 is held in a right step ofthe opening 3111 by pressing the main member 341 so as to be insertedinto the opening 3111 after the second fixing member 343 is caught by aleft step of the openings 3111 and thus the cover part 34 may be fixedto the openings 3111.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the cover part 34may further include a third fixing member 344 disposed at a centralportion of the top surface of the main member 341. The third fixingmember 344 may be integrated with the main member 341 and may passthrough the clip through-hole 3112 to protrude the outside of the body311.

In the present invention, when a user is to remove the cover part 34from the opening 3111, he or she may grip the third fixing member 344 topull it outwards, so that the cover part 34 may be separated from theopening 3111. Here, the main member 341 may be bent in a longitudinaldirection thereof with respect to the central portion thereof due to theforce of pulling the main member 341 outwards, so that the first fixingmember 342 and the second fixing member 343 may become closer to eachother, and accordingly, the first fixing member 342 and the secondfixing member 343 may be released from the step.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the base part 31may further include a protruding member 313 and an impact absorbingmember 314.

The protruding member 313 is adapted to fix the impact absorbing member314, may be disposed between a pair of support parts 33, and mayprotrude in the third direction. Here, the protruding member 313 may bedisposed in a rectangular plate shape, in which a bottom surface thereofis coupled to the body.

The impact absorbing member 314 may be disposed at a lower portion ofthe deck panel 10 to absorb an impact applied to the deck panel 10, andmay be formed of an elastic material such as rubber and a resin. Here,the insertion grooves of the protruding member of the impact absorbingmember 314, into which the protruding member 313 may be inserted along alongitudinal direction, may be recessed inwards.

The protruding member 313 may have one or more projections on an outerperipheral surface thereof and the impact absorbing member 314 may havegrooves corresponding to the projections. Here, the projections andgrooves may prevent the impact absorbing member 314 from being easilyseparated.

When an user of the present invention constructs a floor by using thedeck assembly 1 of the present invention, the lower support is disposedon a ground surface first, the quick clip module 30 is coupled to thelower support 20, and one or more the deck panels 10 is fixed to theclip part 32 of the quick clip module 30, and thus a bottom surfacethereof may be formed. Here, the quick clip module 30 may be coupled tothe lower support 20 while the clip part 32 is coupled to the base part31 or the clip part 32 may be coupled to the base part 31 after the basepart 31 is coupled to the lower support 20 first.

In a detailed description of the process of coupling the deck panel 10will be described in more detail (see FIG. 8), an user disposes the deckpanel 10 obliquely between a pair of clip parts 32 to press a topsurface of the deck panel 10 on a side into which the clip part 32 isnot inserted, and thus the clip part 32 may be inserted into even theanother clip insertion groove. Here, the clip part 32 may apply apressure toward the deck panel 10 by an elastic force while beinginserted into the clip insertion groove 11, so that the deck panel 10may be fixed not to be separated.

That is, in the present invention, the deck panel 10 may be fixedthrough the quick clip module 30 without using a coupling member such asa screw and a nail, and thus the time required for construction may beshortened, and the difficulty of construction may be reduced.

Meanwhile, FIG. 8 illustrates only the case in which the deck panel 10is obliquely inserted to be coupled thereto, but the present inventionis not limited thereto, and it is apparent that the deck panel 10 may beslid to be inserted between a pair of clip parts 32.

The description of the present disclosure is exemplary, and it can beunderstood that those skilled in the art to which the present disclosurepertains can easily modify the present disclosure into other detailedforms without changing the technical spirits or the essential features.Therefore, the above-described embodiments are exemplary in all aspects,and should be construed not to be restrictive. For example, the elementsdescribed in a single type may be distributed when being carried out,and the elements described as being distributed may be carried out whilebeing coupled to each other.

The scope of the present disclosure is determined by the claims, and allchanges or modifications derived from the meanings and scopes of theclaims and the equivalents thereof are construed to be included in thescope of the present disclosure.

1. A deck assembly comprising: a deck panel having a plate shapeextending in a first direction and having a clip insertion grooverecessed from each of both side surfaces thereof; a lower supportdisposed below the deck panel in a second direction that isperpendicular to the first direction; and a quick clip module coupled toone side surface of the lower support to fix the deck panel in aseparable manner, wherein the quick clip module comprises: a base partcomprising a hexahedral body extending in the second direction, in whicha plurality of multi-stepped openings pass through a side surfacethereof in the first direction and clip through-holes communicated withthe openings in one-to-one correspondence are formed in a top surfacethereof, and clip fixing parts formed in the insides of the openings andin which the clip insertion grooves communicated with the clipthrough-holes are formed in the top surface thereof to be recessedinward; and clip parts disposed in the clip insertion grooves and theclip through-holes and each having a portion protruding to the outside,wherein a side surface of each of the clip through-holes is opened in adirection corresponding to a direction in which the clip part isinserted, wherein each of the clip insertion grooves is formed over atop surface and an upper side surface of the clip fixing part, and eachof the clip fixing parts is formed such that a clip fixing projectioninserted into the clip part to prevent the clip part from beingseparated protrudes from an inner surface of the clip insertion groove,wherein the quick clip module further comprises: an inverse L-shapedsupport part formed on the top surface of the body in one-to-onecorrespondence to the clip through hole and being caught by the lowersupport; and a cover part coupled to each of the openings in a separablemanner and covering a portion of the clip through hole and the clipinsertion groove to prevent the clip part from being separated whencoupled to the openings, wherein the cover part comprises: a main memberhaving a rectangular plate shape, made of an elastic material, andinserted into the opening; a first fixing member having a triangularcolumn shape, in which a side edge thereof is cut away, coupled to onesurface of the main member so as to be adjacent to one end of the mainmember, and caught by one side step of the opening; and a second fixingmember having a rectangular plate shape, coupled to one surface of themain member so as to be adjacent to the other end of the main member,and caught by the other side step of the opening, wherein the firstfixing member and the second fixing member are disposed on one straightline to protrude to the outside in opposite directions from each other,and are formed of a material that is harder than the main member, andwherein the clip fixing part has the same height as the opening and hasa hexahedral shape having a longitudinal cross-sectional area less thana smallest longitudinal cross-sectional area of the opening.
 2. The deckassembly of claim 1, wherein the cover part further comprises a thirdfixing member integrated with the top surface of the main member andpassing through the clip through-hole to protrude to the outside of thebody.
 3. The deck assembly of claim 1, wherein the clip part comprises:a U-shaped main body formed by bending a metal plate having a constant;a first extension member bent inward from one end of the main body toextend and having a plurality of bent sections and a curved section bentin an arch shape; and a second extension member bent inward from theother end of the main body to extend and having a plurality of bentsections and a curved section bent in an arch shape, wherein the firstextension member and the second extension member are formed to besymmetrical to each other and elastically deformed by an external forceto move in a direction in which the first extension member and thesecond extension member become closer to each other.
 4. The deckassembly of claim 1, wherein the base part further comprises: aprotruding member protruding from the top surface of the body betweeneach pair of support parts, and an impact absorbing member coupled tothe protruding member and made of an elastic material, wherein theimpact absorbing member is configured such that the insertion groove,through which the protruding member is inserted, is recessed inward.